“Flashing Lights” have recently been directed towards Kanye West due to many controversies surrounding his recent social media posts. Fans from all over the world have been following and tracking the recent news of his latest controversial posts.

At the start of his career in the early 2000s, West began to greatly influence the music industry we know today. He started his career as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records and assisted with some of Jay-Z’s projects. Soon after many efforts to become a famous rapper, West came out with his first album The College Dropout (2004). Today, some of his most well known songs include, “Gold Digger,” “Bound 2,” and “Heartless.” The success of his first album set him up for a famous and promising future. According to one student at Cherry Hill High School East (‘26), “He was doing really good things in the music industry” at the beginning of his career.

His accomplishments did not stop there. West is now a multi-award winner, billionaire, and a fashion designer for his self made brand, Yeezy. West was able to utilize his talents to create a space in the music and fashion industry for many people around the world. For a period of time, his fame seemed infinite, as if he would always be one of the top artists in the music industry.

However, this was not the case. West’s personal life conflicted a lot with his social life. Many non-supporters of West believe the downfall of his career started with his divorce with media personality and business woman, Kim Kardashian. His poor behavior became more evident after their divorce. “[Kim] showed how successful she can be without him,” shared Gwen Kramer (‘26), and since the divorce, West has fallen into a cycle of misguided decisions.

Although his mental health issues are becoming more and more prominent in the media, they were always present in West’s life. His fans began to question his behavior in 2009 at the VMA Awards when he abruptly took the microphone from singer-songwriter, Taylor Swift, while she was giving an acceptance speech. After the incident both Kanye and Taylor fans were shocked, and the two fandoms began an ongoing feud.

West’s bad behavior did not stop there. As his music career continued, so did his bold statements. In early October of 2022, West made a scene at Paris Fashion Week by wearing a “White Lives Matter” t-shirt. “White Lives Matter” is a response from white supremacists against the Black Lives Matter movement. Since 2015 this slogan has been appearing across the country during protests and other political situations. Many were horrified when West and Candace Owens, Conservative commentator, wore the matching shirts. Showcasing the offensive slogan displayed the singer in a very negative light.

After receiving a lot of backlash due to his “White Lives Matter” shirt, West later made anti-semitic comments publicly to his friends and on his Twitter account. “As an influencer, he needs to realize that the things that he says are taken very seriously by some of his fans,” said Brianna Rosenberg (‘26) as a response to discovering his tweet. The hate speech West published sparked many anti-semitic individuals to speak out around the world causing many Jewish people to be afraid for their communities. “His comments are offensive towards me and my community, being Jewish,” said Sarah Begun (‘26) when asked about West’s anti-semetic comments.

In addition to West’s fans, many companies were appalled by his behavior. Companies such as Adidas, Balenciaga, and GAP cut ties with West just days after his behavior surfaced. Social media companies including Twitter and Instagram suspended West after these recent posts.

Overall, Kanye West, one of the most famous rappers of his time, has made himself known for his outspoken personality. His personality resulted in the loss of his family, business deals, billions of dollars, and millions of fans. His career appeared to be unstoppable, but is this the end of the Kanye West we used to know?